A/N: This is going to be the last update for a (hopefully short) while, so here's a mix of comical situations and family stuff.

Chapter 10 – Daddy Issues

The alarm clock started blaring at 0930, pulling Sarah from her pleasant dream of Chuck making sweet love to her and back into reality. She rolled on her back and pulled her sleep mask off. The sun shone directly into her still sleep fogged eyes as she glanced at the display on the clock face. She was definitely not a morning person, and her blurry vision read the time as being only 0530. She was pissed (and aroused, too). No alarm clock disrupts the beauty sleep and sweet dreams of Sarah fucking Walker for no good reason and gets away with it. Her hand went under the pillow, where she kept a fighting knife, just in case. In a fluid, practiced move she hurled it at the offending gadget, impaling it to the wall and silencing it for good. Satisfied with the result, she pulled the comforter over her and went back to sleep.

-o-

"Good morning Casey," Chuck said as he stepped into the big man's office.

"You seen Walker anywhere?" Casey asked brusquely.

"I thought she was here with you."

"She's not. And her car is not in its usual spot, either."

"That's odd." Chuck took his phone out and tried to call Sarah. It went straight to voicemail. "She's not answering the phone. I'll try later, just in case she can't get a signal."

"Or she could have had enough of the good life here with you and hightailed it to wherever your buddy Bryce is holed up."

"Is that an option?"

"Don't worry, Chuck. I hear there is a great selection of new handlers in this year's CIA holiday catalog." He was definitely going to enjoy pulling the Moron's leg. He had not been contacted and briefed on any reassignment for Sarah.

"You are a funny guy, Casey… Voicemail again," Chuck said as he once again attempted to call her. "What if something happened to her?"

"I'll try to call her in her hotel." He picked up the telephone handset from his desk and dialed Sarah's number. "She's not answering. Damn! This is not like Walker at all. There's something very wrong here." In fact, Sarah was back in dreamland, blissfully unaware that she had forgotten to recharge her cell phone battery and that the cable of her room phone had been accidentally disconnected.

While Chuck was freaking out and Casey was getting more worried with every passing minute, Sarah finally woke up. She pushed herself off the bed and padded to the bathroom still wearing just the red top and blue striped panties she'd slept in, yawning all the way there. After splashing some cold water on her face, she felt ready to start her day. Well, almost ready, as she hadn't had her first coffee yet. Going back to the bedroom, she grinned satanically when she saw the results of her earlier handiwork. As she slipped her watch on around her wrist she casually glanced at it and froze. Her good mood was abruptly replaced by shock. She was two hours late for work. Immediately springing into action, she grabbed various items of clothing from her closet and got dressed. She somehow managed not to sprain her ankles as she put her shoes on while running towards the elevator or cause traffic accidents while speeding to work. In her rush to get to the office, one of her heels caught on the door mat and she went flying through the (fortunately) open door and into Chuck's arms. She almost knocked him over, but he managed to stay on his feet and grab her before she fell.

"Whoa there, Sarah! Take it easy! Where have you been, anyway? Casey and I were getting worried."

"Sorry, Chuck, I overslept," she said sheepishly.

"Oh. Don't let it happen again, Ms. Walker," he said in his best employer voice.

"It won't." She noticed that she was still pressed against him, his arms circling her waist and her hands on his broad shoulders. She took a step back and reflexively smoothed her skirt. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Just let Casey know you are here."

-o-

"Casey, I'm here," she said as she went in the NSA agent's cover business office.

"Where the hell have you been, Walker? The Moron and I called you about a dozen times."

"I didn't hear any phones ringing."

"Check your phone for the missed calls."

"Hold on." She took her phone out and… "Nothing."

"What are you talking about?" He grabbed the phone from her hand and tried to turn it on. "Did you recharge it?"

"Huh?"

*grunt* (Stupid skirt)

"I forgot," she offered lamely. She dreaded the look he was giving her. Above all she feared that he could ask for her reassignment, which would be a huge blow to her career and her ego, as Sarah Walker had never before failed on a mission.

"Listen Walker, you have to get your head back in the game."

"Did you ever want a normal life, have a family, children?" Sarah asked suddenly.

"We made a choice; the choice to protect something bigger than ourselves, which was the right choice."

"Do you think I'm compromised?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. This assignment is so screwed up by our normal standards that it is hard not to. The Moron's hybrid status is enough of a complication in itself. You like him, don't you? Admit it, you have feelings for him."

"I'll only admit to having feelings."

"You admit to having feelings in general… Come on, I know you can't keep your chocolate out of his peanut butter. By all rights I should ask for you to be reassigned. You've given me plenty of ammunition for that. But I won't. You know why? Because you are a good agent, Walker. We have not been working together for very long, but you have my back the way I have yours. Plus, the way things are, finding someone else to be the Nerd's cover girlfriend will be almost impossible in all respects. You are training him well, too."

"Thank you. I mean it."

"Don't mention it, seriously. One more thing; play your cards right and you won't have to pussy-foot around the issue for much longer."

"Can you please explain?"

"The way things are going, Bartowski will soon be a qualified agent. Do the math. Now go make sure that he doesn't get in trouble. And recharge your phone battery."

-o-

Sarah was sitting behind her desk, appearing busy with arranging the company's participation in a game fair and an interview with a computer gaming magazine for Chuck. In reality, her mind was racing. On one hand, when Chuck would make agent status, one obstacle to acting on their feelings for each other, and she knew for a fact that these feelings were mutual, would be removed. On the other hand, it scared her more than anything else. It wasn't just her fear of commitments. She was worried about Chuck. She was afraid that he could lose his endearing innocence, all the things that made him great.

When she finished with her assigned tasks she had nothing left to do for the rest of her work day, so she continued playing her favorite computer game and after completing yet another level she did something with Photoshop. She thought that the end result was good.

"Hey Sarah," Chuck said as he entered her office. "How are you doing?"

"I finalized the arrangements for next month's game fair and also the details for your interview."

"You did all that already?"

"I also did this," she said and printed the picture she'd been working on. "You and I, together at Comic Con. You like it?"

"It's perfect," he replied when he saw the doctored photo of the two of them, him dressed as Han Solo and her as Princess Leia.

"Thank you."

"But we've never been to Comic Con…"

"I know. I was just fooling around with Photoshop. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I want to go to Comic Con, see what the fuss is all about. Can you take me there some day, show me around?"

"Excuse me? You are willing to attend a nerd convention?"

"I've been playing your games and reading your comic books to pass the time. Does that make me a nerd?"

"I don't know… But if it does, you are the most beautiful badass Nerd ever."

"You know how to compliment a lady," Sarah laughed. "Now, get your butt downstairs. You have a training session with Casey."

"Yes ma'am."

-o-

Morgan had gone home and Sarah closed up shop at Orion before heading across the street to Casey's. She knocked and entered. Casey was walking stiffly to his desk carrying some files. He acknowledged her presence with a nod.

"What happened to you?" Sarah asked.

"The Intersect kicked my ass."

"Come again? Chuck did this to you?"

"No, it was not Bartowski. He was just the puppet. The damn computer in his brain was pulling the strings. Luckily for me he managed to control it."

"Dress it up any way you want, but the fact remains that Chuck kicked your ass. Where is he, by the way?"

"He's working on the intel review downstairs."

"Is there anything you need me for?"

"Not at this time. I'll call you if anything comes up."

"OK. See you."

-o-

The following day Chuck was walking to his car while whistling a happy tune. Ellie and Devon had still not returned from their shift at the hospital, so he'd locked the door to the apartment and was now fumbling in his pockets for his car keys. Casey came out into the courtyard just then.

"Good morning," Chuck said cheerfully.

"Good morning Bartowski."

"Are you OK? I mean, after yesterday…"

"I'm fine. Walker called a few minutes ago. She won't be coming to work today."

"Is she all right? She's not sick or anything?" Chuck asked.

"She's taking a personal day."

"We get personal days?"

"We do," Casey said, meaning himself and Sarah. "You don't."

"Did she tell you what it's about?"

"Yes."

"Well?"

"It's personal," came the cryptic reply.

While driving to work Chuck was wondering what would cause Sarah to take a day off for personal reasons. At least she wasn't sick. She was working hard both in her real and her cover jobs, so she really deserved a break, but she could have called him. Whatever she was up to, it was not spy stuff related. Otherwise she'd just tell them that she was needed for a side mission, maybe even ask him to take a look at the details and see if they caused a flash.

"The place is not the same without Sarah around, dude," Morgan remarked while they were sorting some orders they had gotten. "She hasn't been working here for long, but she's definitely left her mark."

"I know, but she needed to take the day off and I couldn't say no."

"Did she say what she was going to do?"

"No and I didn't ask. I trust her and I respect her need for privacy."

"Aren't you the least bit curious?"

"Curiosity has nothing to do with it, Morgan. But then again, discretion is not one of your virtues."

"Ah, but I have other virtues to compensate for the lack of that particular one."

"Well said, buddy," Chuck agreed.

Still, his curiosity was piqued and since Casey had given him the afternoon off from training he drove by Sarah's hotel after wrapping it up at the office and parked nearby. Then he saw her. She looked positively stunning in the black dress and matching shawl. She had even done her hair differently, bunching it up but letting some ringlets cascade down. Damn, she's beautiful as ever, Chuck thought. But she was not alone. There was a man with her, a much older man. Who was he? A mark? Was she on a mission, after all? No, she wouldn't compromise her private residence on a mission. He watched as the man held the door of his Chrysler convertible open for her after draping his suit jacket around her shoulders and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Although deep down he knew it was irrational, he was insanely jealous, so he followed them to a restaurant. He took a table where he could keep an eye on them, but they couldn't easily see him. The older man laid a hand on her arm and as he did so Chuck saw a small scar on which he promptly flashed. Sarah's… date had a criminal record. This was bad, really bad, but she looked totally at ease. He had to keep in mind that she was a trained spy. And as a trained spy, she had her phone within easy reach. She definitely did not want a repeat of yesterday's screw up.

Sarah took a look at the display when the waiter brought them the menus and frowned. It told her that Chuck's watch tracking device was very close and wherever the watch was, Chuck was as well. She looked around and spotted him. Excusing herself from the man she was with, she made her way over to Chuck's table.

"Chuck, what are you doing here?"

"Same thing you are," he answered.

"Meaning?"

"I came here to eat. Morgan gave this place high marks and I wanted to check it out. Hell, you were with me when he recommended it. How did you find me, anyway?"

"Your watch, Chuck," she said with an exasperated sigh.

"Well, it was a surprise seeing you here," he said, keeping to the story he'd just concocted. He hated lying to anyone, especially his loved ones and Sarah was definitely a person he loved, but he hoped he was convincing.

"It's fair to say that I was surprised to see you too."

"By the way, you should know that the much older gentleman you are dining with has a record. I flashed on him. He's got a criminal record as long as my… It's long."

"All true," the older gentleman said. He'd seen Sarah talk to the young man and decided to see what was going on. "But I'm an excellent dancer."

"Chuck," Sarah said, "I'd like you to meet my Dad, Jack Burton. Dad, this is my boyfriend Charles Bartowski."

"Would you like to join us, Charlie?"

"I came here for dinner in the first place. So yes, I'd like that, sir."

"Call me Jack."

Over dinner Chuck learned a lot of things about Sarah and her childhood. The parts about her helping her dad with his schemes were interesting and sometimes funny. Jack Burton might be a criminal, but he really adored his family. The way he was doting on his younger daughter was proof enough.

After dinner they went their separate ways, Chuck to his place and Sarah back to her hotel with her dad. He had booked a room there.

"Darling, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, daddy, what is it?" They went to her room and sat down.

"Angel, as I already told you, I'm out of the con business for good."

"You didn't say why though."

"I am getting too old, plain and simple."

"Okay," she said.

"But I want you to tell me the truth, kiddo. Are you working an angle here? I mean, this place, your name, Sarah Walker, that schnook Chippy…"

"Chuck, Dad, his name is Chuck. And he's not a schnook."

"Come on kid, he's a Class-A schnook. What con are you trying to pull on him? I know for a fact that he's doing rather well."

"How do you know that?"

"I lifted his ATM card and a business card from his wallet. Here, take it and give it back to him. I wanted to check him out, and now I'm really worried. I never wanted this life for you. You should have stayed with your mother and Carina to begin with. I still don't know how you managed to talk me into coming with me."

"Dad, I'm not working on a con. I work for Chuck as his company's marketing and PR manager."

"I don't believe you," he said flatly. "You are a good liar. I know, I taught you myself, but you could never lie to me. You are still hiding something from me. Tell me everything, now."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. Darling, I've been to jail and it isn't a nice place, believe me. I don't want you ending up in there or worse."

"There is no danger of that happening, ever."

"Then tell me, or I'm leaving right this minute."

"Daddy, please, I can't. It's not about you, I just can't tell anyone."

"Sa- Sarah… I promise I'll take whatever secret you tell me to my grave. I'll never betray you."

"Summer of 98," she said. She knew she could trust Jack with her secret.

"When I got arrested?"

"Yes. The man who arrested you…"

"Langston Graham."

"Yes. He made me a job offer."

"And you took it?" Jack said angrily, rising from his seat. "The bastard! He should have left you alone. I'll kill him when I get my hands on him!"

"Dad, please sit down." She knew that he was perfectly capable of carrying out the threat. He never wanted anyone to mess with his family. "The fact remains that I am a CIA agent. Thanks to Graham I went to Harvard and I like to think that I have done some good for the country."

"Yes, but at what cost? It's very dangerous and you've had to kill people, I imagine."

"I had. But they all deserved it. That makes it a bit easier."

"So, is Charlie with the CIA, too?"

"He's a contractor," she replied cautiously.

"That will suffice. I don't want to know too much." He hugged her. "Thanks for being honest with me." He then saw her murdered alarm clock. "Did you do that?"

"Yes. You taught me my knife skills, remember?"

"Remind me never to annoy you, Angel." They both laughed. He kissed his little girl goodnight and retired to his room.

In the morning Sarah's father woke her up and waited outside until she got dressed. When she let him back in her room, he admired her business suit and brought something with him.

"I brought you your favorite breakfast, Angel; French toast, whipped cream, fresh strawberries and orange juice."

"Daddy, you're so sweet, but this was my favorite breakfast when I was twelve."

"What's changed?"

"I need coffee, too."

"I thought so," he said and produced a pot full of coffee.

"Now you're talking," she said smiling as he poured her a cup.

After breakfast she drove to work as usual. Chuck had not come in yet, which was odd, until she remembered that he was supposed to be meeting with a potential big customer who was interested in the range of office software Orion was selling. A big contract like that would certainly help and the good word about their products the customer was certain to put in with his associates wouldn't hurt business either. She checked in with Casey and sifted through the emails they had gotten. The dailies went to a separate folder, while the business emails went to another. She then opened them one by one, read them and replied to them or forwarded them to Chuck or Morgan for further consideration.

Morgan called her to his office an hour later to consult on advertising. She saw him pacing around the room, his jacket off, tie loosened and shirt sleeves rolled up, running a hand over his beard, apparently deep in thought.

"You wanted to see me, Morgan?"

"Yes, Sarah, please take a seat. I went over your proposal for advertising our products and I must say that the concept is definitely appealing. Hiring you was one of the best moves Chuck made."

"Thank you." She smiled widely at the compliment. "But I sense a caveat coming."

"I don't know if we can afford to do such an event, even with the help from the company that will be handling the distribution."

"It's a calculated risk, Morgan. The gaming magazines have already been giving us good publicity after the conference in San Francisco; in fact it's become the most awaited game of the year."

"Yeah, but it still looks expensive."

"I suggest we run it by Chuck later, when he comes back. But I'll take what you told me into serious consideration. Perhaps you or he can come up with a way to lower the costs."

"I'll look into it."

"I suppose that we could always find another convenient venue."

"I got it! Ha-ha! I can get us a place for free!"

"Really? That's great! Where?"

"Did Chuck ever tell you about where we worked before we started Orion Games & Software?"

"I know that you both used to work at a Buy More."

"Exactly. I can talk the manager of the Burbank Buy More into letting us host the event there. He won't say no since it means hefty sales. Think about it: the first release of the game happening in his store!"

"I like your thinking."

"There is another plus to it. That idiot Barclay is gonna eat his heart out!"

"Who's Barclay?"

"He's the Ass Man – assistant manager – of the Beverly Hills Buy More. The relations between the two branches are not exactly friendly. Also, the Buy More Plaza here in Burbank is more suited to what we're planning."

"In what way, exactly?"

"There will be eager people queuing to buy the game. In fact some will camp outside the place two to three days before the scheduled release. You don't know the lengths geeks will go to in order to be the first to get their hands on a good game. But Chuck and I do. It can work." He was so enthusiastic that he led her in a brief dance around the office.

"Hey you two, what's going on?" Chuck asked. He'd just returned from his business meeting and had good news.

"Chuck!" Morgan exclaimed and jumped on his best friend, clinging to him like a koala to a tree. "How did it go?"

"It went fine, little buddy. What were you celebrating here?"

"Oh, that," Morgan said, getting off of Chuck. Placing a hand on Sarah's back, he gently pushed her close to Chuck. "Kiss your girl first, dude." The faux couple smiled at each other. "Come on," Morgan urged impatiently. Sarah pulled Chuck down to her by his tie and pressed her lips against his.

"Morgan and I worked something out," she said after the kiss.

"She had a wonderful idea for the 38th Parallel release event."

"And Morgan found the ideal venue. It's not going to cost us a cent."

"Really? Tell me all about it," Chuck said. The others proceeded to explain Sarah's idea and Morgan's suggestion to hold the event at the Buy More. Chuck was so enthusiastic about it that he pulled them both into a big hug and kissed Sarah again.

They got so caught up in discussing the plan at length – and approving it, that lunch time came before they realized it.

"Lunch at the diner?" Chuck suggested.

"Sure. I'll just be a minute," Sarah said and went to her office to pick up her purse.

"We can also ask John to join us," said Morgan.

"Not a bad idea at all, Morgan. I'll go tell him." He went across the street and told Casey, who accepted.

At the diner the four took a booth in a corner and waited for someone to come and take their order. That someone was Alex. Morgan immediately rose from his seat and gave her a quick kiss.

"Hello everyone," Alex said brightly. They returned the greeting.

"Um, Alex, we weren't properly introduced at Thanksgiving," Casey said and stuck out a massive paw. "John Casey."

"Alex McHugh," she said as her small delicate hand disappeared in Casey's grip. At that precise moment someone called Alex and she turned, thus missing the look of total shock that briefly played across Casey's face before his agent instincts helped him recover from it. Sarah had noticed it however, as had Chuck. When Alex turned to them again to ask them what they would be having, Casey's face had its normal expression back on.

During the meal everyone was acting normal, but there was an undercurrent of tension. Something had clearly upset Casey, although he was trying hard to hide it, and Chuck and Sarah were curious to know what it was. Apparently it had something to do with Alex, but the question was why.

"Sarah, what's wrong with Casey?" Chuck asked when they got back to the office.

"I don't know. But he looked like he'd seen a ghost."

"Yeah… something about Alex spooked him big time. He freaked out when he heard her name."

"It must be something from his past. I wonder if the Intersect has anything on it."

"No, Sarah. It's personal."

"You are right, Chuck, absolutely right. But he's my partner and if it compromises our cover or the missions we need to know."

"We can ask him."

"Let's go." She took his hand and led him to Casey's office. They found him sitting behind his desk, an open bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label in front of him and contemplatively looking at the amber liquid in a glass.

"What is it, Walker?"

"I don't know, Casey. You tell us."

"Yeah," Chuck said. "What's the matter with Alex?"

"I'll go out on a limb and say that you know her family, her father most likely," Sarah said.

"Did you meet him in the Marines or in the NSA?" Chuck asked.

Casey sighed, emptied the glass and set it down on the desk before reaching for the bottle to refill it. "It's a long story," he said simply.

"You can count on our discretion," Sarah said. "But it will help if you get it off your chest. We won't press the issue if you don't want to tell us, but if there is something that can potentially affect the assignment… Neither of us wants to resort to the Intersect and try to find out…"

"Sit down, both of you," he said and took another sip of his whiskey. "Drink?"

"No, thanks," they said in unison as they sat down.

"You are right… After all, I've read the files on both of you. It's only fair to tell you about me. It's somewhat pertinent to the assignment, too…"

"You can skip the more personal parts, Casey, if it makes it easier for you."

"Thanks for the concern, Chuck." He rose and got a couple more glasses from a cupboard. "Just in case you feel you need a drink," he said. "What do you want to know?"

"Can Alex recognize you and blow your cover?" Sarah asked.

"No." He shook his head. He extracted something from his wallet and looked at it before continuing. "Honduras 1989… a Marine unit was on deployment there. One of the officers was a Lieutenant Alexander Coburn." When Casey mentioned the name, Chuck flashed. "What did you see, Bartowski?"

"Not much. A lot has been redacted from the file. No photo, no personal information, but it says that Lieutenant Coburn, infantry officer and scout sniper, was killed in action in 1989."

"Coburn had a fiancée. He loved her and he was going to marry her. Her name was Kathleen McHugh."

"So, Alex is the daughter of a fallen comrade?"

"Her mother must have been pregnant with her when Lieutenant Coburn was killed," Sarah added.

"We can see why it was such a shock to you, Casey."

"You ain't seen nothing yet, Bartowski. Coburn was reported KIA, was given a hero's funeral, only he wasn't really dead."

"His death was faked?"

"He made a choice between love and love of country without knowing that he was going to become a father. That same day Lieutenant John Casey was recruited into the NSA." He looked at Chuck and Sarah. Both were slack-jawed in shock and looking at him with wide eyes.

"I think I need that whiskey now," Chuck said. "Sarah?" She just nodded and accepted the glass Chuck offered her.

*grunt* (I told you so) "This is Coburn and Kathleen before his last deployment," he said and pushed the snapshots taken in a photo booth so long ago across the desk. Chuck and Sarah huddled together to look at them. They showed a serious LT Coburn and a young woman, Kathleen obviously, who was sticking her tongue out at the camera.

"Alex is your daughter," Chuck managed to say.

"Yeah…" Casey took another long pull of his whiskey.

"You should be proud of her. She's become a fine young woman."

"Thanks, Bartowski."

"Do you want us to stay, or would you like some privacy, Casey?" Sarah asked.

"Thank you both for your support. But I have to start making some plans."

"About what?"

"About killing the bearded buffoon she's dating."

"That's the whiskey talking right now, Casey. Morgan is the perfect gentleman when it comes to Alex."

"And they are a cute couple," Sarah added to be answered with a deep growl from her partner.

"Morgan told me that he met Alex's mother the other day and that she likes him."

"I suppose I don't have the right to intervene."

"You can always reveal yourself to them. They deserve to know the truth."

"What's done is done. Alex Coburn is dead."

"No he isn't. He has a family and they need him. Alex should have her father, trust me. I'm talking from experience."

"We'll discuss the matter again when he's sober. Come on, Chuck. Casey, think about what we told you. " With that they got up and went back to their offices, leaving Casey alone with his thoughts.

"You know, I can relate to Alex in some ways," Chuck said.

"Why, what do you mean?"

"Sarah, I know what it's like to grow up without parents. First my mom left, then my dad. At least I think they are still out there somewhere. Alex never knew her father. It's sad."

"Yes it is. But I trust Casey. He'll make the right decision."

"I know. He'll just have to get over the shock first, but he'll do what he's gotta do."